Go with me, if you would, back
to Matthew chapter 28. Matthew 28. I have always loved
this chapter. I've always loved hearing this
account. I love this account. I've always loved what the angel
said to these women who came to the tomb to bring spices to
their Lord. And I pray that the Lord will
open this up to us. I was just sitting here thinking
a minute ago, I pray that we'll get out of Easter for just a
minute. And let's get into worship for
just a minute. May the Lord Bless us. May the Lord help us. May the
Lord teach us something and send His Spirit to us and open our
eyes and open our ears and open our hearts and let us truly see
something. Something concerning eternity. Something that matters. Nothing
else does. Nothing on this earth matters. But I pray the Lord will truly,
truly, truly open this up to us. and show us something about
salvation. Here we're gonna look at this
story and I pray when we leave here, we will have seen something
concerning the truth of eternity and salvation. That's my prayer. I pray the Lord will let us read
between the lines and see it in these women right here. So
Matthew 28 verse one, it says, in the end of the Sabbath, as
it began to dawn toward the first day of the week." And what that
means is when Saturday night was over and Sunday morning began. Verse 1 says, in the end of the
Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week,
came Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary to see the sepulcher. It's so precious to me how much
emphasis the Holy Ghost has put on Mary Magdalene here and everywhere
she's mentioned. Everywhere she's mentioned. There
were other women with them. Mark's account says that a woman
named Salome was there. who is the mother of James and
John. And then Luke's account says there were certain others
with them. So there were other women there,
right? There were other women with them.
But Mary Magdalene is the only one who had a bad report. She's the only one. Mary Magdalene had seven devils
inside of her when the Lord came to her. She came from a city
called Magdala. She is Mary the Magdalene. Came from a city called Magdala,
which was known, different cities and different places are known
for certain things. Well, Magdala was known for its
whoredom. If a person was looking for whoredom,
you go to Magdala. If you were from that city, you
had a reputation. But of all the women who came,
the Spirit of God opened this chapter and opened this precious
event by saying, Mary Magdalene was there. It says, and the other Mary too.
Yeah, the other Mary, she was there too. Verse one says, in
the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first
day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the
sepulcher. The first thing I want us to
notice about salvation is, salvation is for sinners. I want us to
realize that. I want us to notice that because
I'm gonna tell you that everybody thinks I mean everybody. Everybody thinks that salvation
is for those who are not sinners, and it's just not so. It is just not so. Salvation
is for sinners. It is for sinners. Now, these
women were coming to anoint the Lord's body with spices. And
you think about that. You think about the depth of
the love and the respect and the reverence that these women
had for their Lord. They weren't just coming to lay
flowers on the headstone. People will do that. You'll go
out to the graveyard and you'll lay some flowers on the, and
you'll honor the, they didn't come to just lay flowers on the,
on the headstone. They wanted to go inside the
tomb. You talk about commitment, you
talk about zeal. Turn with me over to Mark chapter
16. This is Mark's account of the exact same event. Mark 16 verse 1, it says, And
when the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother
of James and Salome had bought sweet spices that they might
come and anoint him. And very early in the morning,
the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulcher at the
rising of the sun, And they said among themselves, who shall roll
us away the stone from the door of the sepulcher? They didn't
want to just anoint the grave. They wanted to anoint his body
with their spices. And the reason they wanted to
do that is because they thought he was seeing corruption. That's the reason why. Their Lord had died on Friday,
and this is now the beginning of Sunday. And just like when
the Lord commanded them to roll away the stone from Lazarus'
tomb, Martha said, Lord, he stinks already. It's not going to smell good
in there. He stinks already. I'm sure that these women had
it in their mind. that the Lord was seeing corruption. And they needed to do their part. They meant well. I know they
did. But they believed in their heart
that they needed to bring their good things, the things that
they could offer to make His sacrifice more pleasing and more
pleasant. And that's what men and women
do. When these ladies got there,
though, when they got to the heart of the matter, they realized, He doesn't need
our spices. Verse 4, it says, And when they
looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away, For it was very
great. They immediately realized there's
nothing here we can do. And I hope the Lord will send
His Spirit right now. Dear Lord, come into this place.
Reveal this to us. Let us read between the lines.
We're talking about salvation. We're talking about eternity.
All right, these women came. They got there. They came to
the place. where the rubber meets the road,
and they realize there's nothing here we can do. We should have left our spices
at home. We went and bought all those spices and prepared all
those spices. We should have left all that
at home. There is nothing for us to add
here. There's nothing for us to add
our spices to here. There's no death here. I thought there was something
here that provided a need from me. There's no stench here. All that's here is a messenger
with some good news. Mark 16 verse 5 says, And entering
into the sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on the right
side, clothed in a long white garment, and they were afraid. They were afraid. The first thing
they saw when they got there struck fear into them. When they came to the truth of
what happened in the tomb, and this is what they saw, they saw
the truth of what happened in the tomb. And when they came
to that truth, It struck fear into them. And that's what happens
every time someone is confronted with the true reality of what
happened in Christ's tomb. It strikes fear. Go with me if
you would to Luke chapter 24. This is Luke's account of the
same event. Luke 24 verse 1, Now upon the
first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto
the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and
certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled
away from the sepulchre, and they entered in, and found not
the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass as they were
much perplexed there about, behold, two men stood by them in shining
garments. And as they were afraid and bowed
down their faces to the earth, those men, those angels, those
messengers said unto them, why seek ye the living among the
dead? Those messengers said, and this
is what will happen. Those messengers said, and this
is what the spirit of God through his message, through his messenger. This is what it said to their
hearts. What are you doing? This is why they were so afraid. What are you doing? I pray that
that question might be asked to me in my heart. What are you
doing? fear struck them. It bowed them
down. It stopped them in their tracks.
They were coming on their sorrowful but merry way, happy to do what
they were doing. And it stopped them in their
tracks. And those messengers said, why
did you come expecting death in a place where only life is? Why did you come thinking that
you could and needed to add anything to the sweet smelling savor of
life that is already here? Why would you think you needed
to add something to what has taken place right here? I pray
the Lord might ask us that question. No corruption was ever in that
tomb. Only the sweet-smelling savor of life, you think about
it, the life of God Himself was in that tomb. The life of God Himself poured
out of that tomb. It was such a sweet-smelling
savor. I would venture to say no other
place in Jerusalem smelled as sweet and as alive as the inside
of that tomb did. Life poured from it. My center
margin in my Bible, I have a reference and it gives scriptures, it gives
meanings of words. And in verse five, where it says
the living, my Bible says that translates him that liveth. Why seek ye him that liveth among
the dead? Why are you viewing Him as being
helpless and dead? Lord, confront me with this question. Please, confront us with this
question. Why are you viewing Him as being helpless and dead? They said, don't you know this
is the living God? Why are you viewing Him as needing
you to do something for Him? And to help him, we're going
to go, what are we going to do today? We're going to get up
and get dressed and gather our things and we're going to go
help Jesus. That's what we're going to do. Why are you viewing
him as needing to help him or do something for him or make
his sacrifice better and sweeter and more pleasant? They said,
don't you realize he just did something for you? These women came to the Lord
Jesus Christ, as many people do, bringing the works of their
own hands with them. And we just heard a Bible study
on that very thing. Bringing the works of their own
hands, they brought all the things they had prepared. They came
bringing their own part. Well, this will be my part. I'll
get this and bring this, and this will be my addition. This
will be my offering. That's what mankind naturally
thinks he's supposed to do. He means well. Those dear ladies,
they meant well. But that's what mankind naturally
thinks he needs to do in regard to the sacrifice of the Lord
Jesus Christ. We're talking about the sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lamb of God. And man thinks that he can add
his good fragrance to the work that Christ has done. But if
a sinner comes to Christ and is met with the message of truth,
if the Lord in His mercy meets a sinner with the message of
truth, that sinner will hear the same thing these ladies heard.
This is what they were told. You're too late. That's the message
I have for all of us this morning. We're too late. This is what they heard. The
work is done. Come here, look. It's over. You're too late. It's over. God
is already satisfied. You come trying to satisfy God?
God is already satisfied. Death has already been conquered.
Well, I'm going to do this because I don't want to die." Well, death
has already been conquered. Life has already been accomplished. You know, Christ crucified is
the sinner's only hope of glory. That's the message we preach.
Christ crucified. Christ crucified. What that means
is what Christ did on the cross. Why was Christ crucified? Well, it's because the Pharisees
didn't like Him. That's not why. It's because
He ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's not
why. Well, He was crucified so He
could show us how to make your body a living sacrifice to God
so you can follow His example and be saved. That's not why. He was crucified because God
the Father made Him to be the Lamb slain for the sin of His
people. And it's only blood that can
put away sin. And God the Father took the sin
of all of His people and laid it on His own precious darling
Son. And God the Father nailed Him
to that cross. And the Lord Jesus Christ said,
no man takes my life from me. I lay down my life. He sovereignly
bowed his own head and gave up his own ghost. He said, Father,
into thy hands, I commend my own spirit to you. And with all
of that sin and all of that death being accomplished and put away,
all the suffering that God, you know, the wages of sin is death.
You know good and well if you break the law, you got to pay
the sacrifice, you got to pay the price. Well, with the price
being paid, God the Father raised Him from the dead. And He is raised from the dead.
It's finished. Christ crucified is the only
message of hope that Christ would do all of this for His people.
But the messenger said, and the message says, Don't go to the
tomb looking for the king. He's not still trying to accomplish
this sacrifice. He's not still here. Well, he's
still there trying to get it done. No, he's not. This sacrifice
is finished and the king is seated on his throne. They said, why
are you here? Why are you here? That is the message of the tomb.
That's the message of the cross. It's finished. That's the good
news. And I'll never forget, the Lord
revealed whenever He, you know, He's still dealing with me and
revealing to me, and I don't have any idea when the Lord saved
me. I tell people it's a span over about 20 years, somewhere
within 20 years. I don't know. People can give
a day and a time and event. I can't. But the Lord started
revealing to me all of these things that the Bible says, if
you don't do this, you're not going to heaven. If you do this, not for you,
and I'd read that and think, I do that. And there's things in here that
I have not done. And when God revealed to me everything
that the Holy Triune God has commanded of me to do, Christ
did it for me. And when He revealed to me everything
that this thing tells me, if you do that, you're going to
pay the penalty, Christ paid it for me. The moment He revealed
that to me, it set me free. It totally set me free. And I
realized all these things that it says, do, do, do, It's done. I'm too late. Don't bring my
spices. No spices needed. Christ did
it and it's over. Come look inside. He's not here.
There's nothing here. That queen of Sheba came to see
Solomon and Solomon in the Bible is a picture of the Lord Jesus
Christ. The Lord made him to be the richest, the wisest to
show us Christ. And that queen, bless her heart,
love her heart. She brought all of her stuff.
She brought wagon loads to Solomon. She was, you know, but the moment
she saw him and all of his greatness and in all of his glory, it slayed
her. And she said, I should have left
my stuff at home. He doesn't need my stuff. He
doesn't need anything I can offer Him. And that's what a sinner
will realize who the Lord by His Spirit brings to an empty
tomb. He doesn't need anything I can
offer Him. These women came to a sacrifice thinking that there
was work to be done. You know that was going through
their mind. There's work to be done. But when they got to the
place where they thought they could help him, they were confronted
with the message of his greatness and his glory. And at that moment,
their helpless savior became their living Lord. That's what
happened. That's what happened. Now go with me back to Matthew
28. I'll be brief. Matthew 28 verse 1 says, As it began to dawn toward the
first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
to see the sepulcher. And behold, there was a great
earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven
and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon
it. His countenance was like lightning
and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him, the keepers
did shake and become his dead men. And the angel answered and
said unto the women, fear not ye. They need to fear. They all passed
out. But that angel said, fear not
ye. He said, I know that you seek
Jesus, which was crucified. He said, I know who you are.
I know you're a seeker. Just listen to this glorious
verse of scripture. 2 Timothy 2.19 says, The foundation
of God standeth sure, having this seal. The Lord knoweth them
that are His. He knows who they are. He chose
them. He knows every single one of
them. Even when they don't know who they are, they look at themselves
and say, surely I can't be one of His children. He knows them. In John 6.44, the Lord Jesus
Christ said, No man can come to me except the Father which
hath sent me draw that man. But he said in John 6.37, All
that the Father giveth to me shall come to me, and him that
cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. Those women were drawn
to this. They were drawn to this. And
our Lord said, every sinner who comes to me and sees me for who
I am has been drawn to that. And because they were drawn to
me, I will in no wise cast them out. To every sinner that Christ
died for, once He reveals the wholly finished work of the tomb,
The God alone finished work of the tomb. That death, that burial,
and that resurrection that Christ accomplished. Not just went through,
but accomplished. Once God reveals to a sinner
that the one who they thought was a struggling Savior is actually
the conquering, victorious King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Sovereign
God, seated on His throne, risen with the eternal redemption that
He secured for His people. Once God reveals that to one
of His sinful people, the message from the tomb cries, fear not. Fear not. Christ accomplished
this death for you. For you. This was your death. Have you ever imagined seeing
your own tombstone? Have you ever imagined that? Would you like to see it? Would
you like to see your grave? This is your death. If you're
in Him, if the Father drew you to Him and revealed who He is
and what He's done, this is your death. Why did Christ hang on
the cross? Why did Christ say He had no
sin in Him? Why did Christ hang on the cross? If there's no sin anywhere, nothing
can die. That's why nobody dies in heaven.
There's no sin there. It's the whole reason. How could
He die? It's because He bore your sin.
That was your death. This was your burial. That was
your resurrection in Him. And if the Father drew you to
Him, that was all for you. He didn't do that for everybody,
but He did it for you. This is what a child of God will
say hearing that. I know because I've said it. How can I know that? I hear you
telling me that, but how can I know that? If he doesn't do
this for everybody, those keepers, he said, fear not ye. If he didn't
do this for everybody, how can I know he did it for me? The message from the tomb cries,
are you a sinner? Christ did this for sinners.
Christ did this for sinners. You can go around and ask people,
you know, put 10 people on a list and go ask them, point blank,
are you a sinner? And see what they tell you. See
how many yeses and nos you get. You won't get many yeses. Or
it'll be a really watered down yes. Christ did this for sinners. Now if we're not sinners, we
can't have any hope of Christ doing this for us. But the apostle
Paul said, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I'm
so glad that God's apostle who wrote half of the New Testament
said, I'm the chief. Doesn't that comfort your heart?
The apostle Paul, he said, I'm the chief. Woe is me. That's what he said. He said, that's how I can know
Christ died for me. He said he died for sinners,
and that's exactly what I am. That's exactly what I am. People
like to stand up and give their testimony. Well, here's mine.
I'm a sinner, saved by grace. Not because of any spices I brought.
It was already done. Nothing left for me to do. Are
you a sinner? Ask yourself, are you a sinner?
If you are a sinner like I'm a sinner, fear not ye. Fear not. Take comfort in this
right here. Verse six says, he is not here. He's not in that tomb anymore.
Why is he not in the tomb? Verse six says, for he is risen.
Why is he risen? because He put away all the sin
of His people. It's gone as He said. He did exactly what He said He
would do. Call His name Jesus, for He shall
save His people from their sins. This is something that's been
said so many times, but I want to say it again because it's
just so glorious. He did not try to save His people. which is what a lot of people
think he did. He did not make salvation possible
for his people. He did not do that. He did not start the work of
salvation so his people can finish it. He didn't open the door so
his people can walk through and close it behind them when they
come. He did not do that. He shall save his people from
their sins. That's exactly what he did. And
that's exactly the reason why God the Father raised him from
the dead. It's because he did what he said
he would do. He said, Father, the work you
gave me to do, I finished it. With life being accomplished
for His people, it was no longer possible for death to hold on
to Him any longer. When a soul outside of Christ
dies, they stay dead forever because they cannot ever pay
the price. God's never satisfied. But when
Christ died for His people, God the Father said, that's the most
satisfactory death I've ever seen in my life. God the Father
said, amen, raise Him, paid. The Lord willing, we're about
to close with a song that says, one day the grave could conceal
him no longer. One day the stone rolled away
from the door, then he arose over death he had conquered,
now is ascended, my Lord evermore. My Lord and my God, as Thomas
put it. Rabboni, that is to say, master,
as Mary Magdalene put it. Verse six says, he is not here
for he is risen as he said. Come see the place where the
Lord lay and go quickly and tell his disciples that he's risen
from the dead and behold, he goeth before you into Galilee. There shall you see him, lo I
have told you. And they departed quickly from
the sepulcher with fear and great joy and did run to bring his
disciples word. And as they went to tell his
disciples, behold, Jesus met them. They didn't meet Him, He
met them. And He said, all hail. And they came and dropped to
their knees, dropped to their ground, and they held Him by the feet,
and they worshiped Him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be
not afraid, go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and
there shall they see me. Now when they were going, behold,
some of the watch came into the city, and showed unto the chief
priest all the things that were done. And when they were assembled
with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money
unto the soldiers, saying, Say ye, his disciples came by night,
and stole him away while he slept. while we slept. And if this come
to the governor's ears, we will persuade him and secure you.
So they took the money and did as they were taught. And this
saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. Then
the 11 disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where
Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped
him. But some doubted. And Jesus came
and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in
heaven and earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever
I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always,
even unto the end of the world. Amen. and He was with them, saying
many things to them for forty days. And at the end of those
forty days, if you'll turn with me to Luke 24, we'll close with
this. At the end of those forty days,
after He had risen from the dead, Luke 24 verse 50, it says, And he led them out as far as
to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. He
told them, now listen to me, I have died and put away your
sins. All the blessings of the Father
are in me, and you're in me, and you're in his blessing. And
he prayed over them, Father, watch over them. I'm coming back
to you. While I was in the world, I kept
them. I'm praying that you'll keep them. Verse 50, He led them
out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed
them. And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted
from them and carried up into heaven. And Acts chapter 1 tells us that
while the disciples watched Him go up, as they were standing
there gazing into heaven, two men in white apparel, two angels, Quite possibly the same too. They said, ye men of Galilee,
why stand ye gazing up into heaven? They said, this same Jesus, which
is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner
as you have seen him go into heaven. They said, this risen,
ascended Savior is going to come back down to get you. Just like
you've seen Him go up, He's gonna come back down. One day, the
trump will sound for His coming. One day, the skies with His glory
will shine. Wonderful day, my beloved ones
bringing. Glorious Savior, this Jesus is
mine. Living, He loved me. Dying, He
saved me. Buried, He carried my sins far
away. all those things that haunt me
and all those things that haunt you, that man, this same Jesus,
carried them far away. Rising, he justified freely forever. One day he's coming. Oh, glorious
day. Verse 52 says, And they worshipped
Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually
in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen. And that's what we're
doing right now. By His grace, we are continually
in His house of worship, praising and blessing God, waiting for
His return. Cry and come quickly, Lord. Come
quickly, Lord Jesus. May the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ be with you all. Brother Eddie, you come.